Ms Niamh Garvey:

We are grateful to the Chair and members of the committee for the invitation to attend this afternoon.

I will focus on areas where NESC has recently engaged in research and has published reports, notably on the just transition approach. These are relevant for the committee's request to explore where there is a need for special measures to help those less well placed to make the transition and the types of policy tools needed to deliver the ambition.

NESC has undertaken significant work on just transition in recent years. Under the climate action plan, NESC has been requested to continue to provide strategic advice, research and analytical support in respect of just transition. The council believes that the just transition approach on climate action is essential. As identified in the climate action plan 2021, NESC defines just transition as one which seeks to ensure transition is fair, equitable and inclusive in terms of processes and outcomes. Just transition refers to both the broader policy framework of climate action and supports, and the process of ensuring that individuals and communities have a voice and a role in informing and shaping these supports.

The council's research reveals that we can expect the transitions in Ireland to be time-consuming. While there is no single blueprint, two key elements are highlighted here. First, we need to identify both the risks and opportunities to employment from transition. Vulnerable sectors and vulnerable job roles are also coupled with new job and enterprise opportunities. Further work is required to scope out the outcomes and processes appropriate for impacted individuals and communities in key sectors such as agriculture and food, transport and parts of industry. Ireland is not alone in needing further research on the social and employment implications of climate policies. Second, we need to adopt a proactive, managed and participatory approach to transition at national, regional and local levels.

NESC's work on wind energy identified the importance of an intentional, problem-solving, State-wide process to underpin transition. Collaborative top-down as well as bottom-up action are both required as transition initiatives rely on a wide range of actions in order to be delivered. As part of this, participatory social dialogue is effective for fostering trust and for adopting a collaborative approach. NESC research is exploring transitions facing rural areas in Ireland using a place-based approach to enhancing sustainable rural development and identifying achievable and acceptable pathways. Dr. Niamh Moore Cherry and colleagues argue that collaborative engagement and support for community-led initiatives can aid successful transition.

Other NESC work on the Covid-19 pandemic has noted the importance of co-design evident in Ireland's Community Call response and the capacity of communities to harness local resources and to use them in new ways helps to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Just transition forms a substantive part of the climate action plan. New structures and processes are under development to develop just transition policies and practices, such as, the just transition commission, and a research and policy working group. Other policy areas also focus on just transition, including the rural development policy, Our Rural Future. There is merit in considering how this approach can be applied to other sectors and policy areas.

NESC report No. 149, Addressing Employment Vulnerability as Part of a Just Transition in Ireland, identifies employment in the agrifood sector as one of the areas that could be impacted from a low-carbon transition. The Government has requested NESC to undertake research on climate and agriculture in 2022. A new project will explore how climate targets and the transition they imply for Irish agriculture can be achieved in a manner that considers social equity and inclusion, environmental resilience and economic well-being.

Work will focus on, first, understanding how climate action and transition are understood within the sector, focusing on both the opportunities and the concerns, including from an economic, environmental and social perspective. Second, it will examine the options, alternatives and costs in supporting ambitious climate action, mapping existing innovative approaches and situating action within a broader rural development perspective. For example, climate action resources such as retrofit or renewable energy supports could be a catalyst for rural communities. Third, the work will assess the strengths and weaknesses of possible policy levers to support climate action and transition, including, for example, the role of advisory services, market requirements and economic instruments. The project will be overseen by a NESC working group and it will engage collaboratively with a wide variety of stakeholders. It is due for completion in March 2023.

Carbon budgets require reductions in emissions which will inevitably mean that certain activities and sectors will be impacted more than others. The focus of working just transition is how to ensure that those individuals, communities or areas more disproportionately impacted by such policy decisions can be identified earlier and better supported so that nobody is left behind. While just transition is in the early stages of policy and practice in Ireland, there is a firm commitment to develop it. No single policy instrument or measure can be applied and it will be important to consider the specific context for each sector, its workers and communities. NESC's work points to the value of early, inclusive engagement with those potentially impacted by decarbonisation. The council's latest projects, which I have just described, will seek to engage widely to further understand what a just transition approach can bring to agriculture.